‘Drug lords behind Duterte smear drive’

DRUG lords and politicians may be behind the latest “smear attacks” against the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Malacañang claimed on Monday.

“They are destroying the administration of the President…Because the war on drugs is the face of the Duterte administration, they are making sure that the welt is on the President. And who are they destroying? The President,” PNP chief Ronald de la Rosa told reporters in Camp Crame, Quezon City.

In the Palace, presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella claimed that some individuals, including politicians, funded the “demolition work” against Duterte in the respected New York Times (NYT), which published a story and an editorial critical of Duterte and his drug war last week.

Abella questioned the NYT’s release in just one week of the news feature “Becoming Duterte: The Making of a Philippine Strongman,” which narrated his rise to power under the context of violence; an editorial titled

“NYT’s very obvious demolition work flies in the face of the very high approval ratings that [President Duterte] enjoys. The newspaper tries to stir global outrage [toward]a nation that welcomes its newfound peace and order,” Abella said.

“One can only conclude that certain personalities and politicians have mounted a well-funded campaign utilizing hack writers and their ilk in their bid to oust [the President],” he added.

Death figures ‘persistent, irritating’

Part of the demolition job, the PNP chief said, was to keep on linking every killing to the government’s anti-drug campaign.

“Maybe behind these attacks are the drug lords because their business is the number one affected in the campaign,” de la Rosa claimed.

He made a presentation to disprove what he described as “persistent and irritating claims by some sectors that there are 7,000 extra-judicial killings.”

Director Augusto Marquez Jr., chief of the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management, said that since the PNP launched its anti-drug war last year, there have been 6,011 homicide cases, 1,398 of which were drug-related.

There are 3,785 ongoing investigations and the police are not discounting the possibility that these cases are also drug-related, he said.

The PNP chief said: “They are presenting this not only to the local but international community. I just want to disprove that allegation so that the public would not be misled by that reporting.”

At the same time, the PNP chief lashed out at some media entities for portraying all the killings as state-sponsored.

“Not all, but some sectors of the media want to show that all the killings are state-sponsored. I personally cannot take to order the killing of a certain person. I will never do that,” he said.

The PNP chief also slammed the European Union for its continuous criticism of the government’s war on drugs.
“What do you want, a state-sponsored drug addiction? Maybe this European [Union] wants all the Filipinos to become drug addicts. Maybe that’s what they want, a place for the addicts to legally use drugs,” he asked.

As for the declaration of the President that 40 percent of barangay (village) chairmen are involved in drugs, de la Rosa said the Directorate for Intelligence has Duterte’s list of protectors and is plotting a move in coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.

HRW slammed

Malacañang on Monday also belied the allegation by an official of New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) that Duterte’s war on illegal drugs only targets the poor.

Abella slammed HRW Deputy Asia Director Phelim Kine for claiming that Duterte had “finally acknowledged” that his drug war is “a war on the poor” that exposes his “contempt for the lives of the country’s urban slum dwellers.”

“The war on drugs is not targeted at any particular segment of society. However, the most prevalent drug in the Philippines is shabu, dubbed as poor man’s cocaine,” Abella said.

“The supply, largely from outside the Philippines, is in great demand from users and distributors both coming from poor families. Poverty, however, does not justify the use and selling of shabu,” Abella said

“As the President said, he has to clean up the streets of drug users, pushers and dealers, regardless of their socioeconomic status in life,” he added.

The Palace official said HRW, as well as other organizations criticizing Duterte, should be “more circumspect” in speaking out on Philippine affairs.

“Their lack of appreciation of the context and local reality shows a deep insensitivity to other cultures,” Abella said.

15 Comments

The results of NYT’s survey of top 100 most influential people in the world is showing that NYT’s black propaganda against Duterte is not working. People from around the world, not only Filipinos are aware of how corrupt the NYT, AI and UN CHR are. These are tools of the very rich and evil people from the US and Europe that they use to impose their political will and promote their interests above the interests of sovereign nations especially third world countries around the world.

If the President wants to clean the country of drug . He should kill the head not the followers or drug addicts . Killing the drug addicts won’t stop the flow of drug. So far only the little pussers and drug addict are being killed not a single Drug Lord is being apprehended or killed. The way this government is functioning is very wrong. Remove the head and the followers will all die.

Pamamaraan nya? DU30 is fighting fire with fire, Philippine Style. The Rule of LAW? If he follows the rule of law, the government appropriated budget will run out before he gets conviction. If and when the government get convictions, they will be sent to NBP for a long time, and the government have the responsibility to house them, to feed them, provide them with their medical needs because that is what the human Rights commission wanted the government to do, and they will also be provided with government lawyers whenever they need one, and all these privileges provided by taxpayers. If these criminals are killed resisting arrests, why not?

On the other hand, there are less fortunate Filipinos that do not have anybody to ask for help, lots of them came from broken family because of drugs, no homes, no family, no food to eat, and they literally living on the streets. These poor and hungry people are law abiding citizens and their only sin is because they belong to the poorest of the poor.

It would be nice to know if DU30 is rerouting all those money he saved to DSWD every time drug pusher / user is killed. I mean the expenditures of the government would spent, if they follow the due process.

“Their lack of appreciation of the context and local reality shows a deep insensitivity to other cultures,” Abella said. Very true indeed. We are a sovereign nation, the president will do what deems best to our country.

…..Time magazine’s survey on 100 most influential leaders of the world puts DU30 leading at the No. 1 spot , higher than Pope Francis who ranks No. 2 ….. …..a backlash on NYT hacks and their financiers ? …….

The President should NOT pay attention to his critics / detractors / slanderers / denigrators / disparagers — just continue his fight against illegal drugs, Abu Sayyafs, NPAs, ISIS, and all types of criminalities. Many of his political opponents that will eventually fall because his determination to KILL all those people who are involved in drugs, are against his efforts in saving the next generations of young Filipinos. City and municipal Mayors, Barangay Captains. politically connected and prominent people that are connected to illegal drugs will not be spared when caught.

Is there any law in the land that says Duterte cannot threat these criminals? and to Human Rights Commission, do you have figures on how many lives and families ruined because of SHABU? Do you have figures on how many innocent victims, such as raped or killed because the criminal is under the influence of shabu? Lastly, do not be surprised if Duterte will have the most votes as the “Most Powerful Man” on earth, by TIME MAGAZINE.

“As the President said, he has to clean up the streets of drug users, pushers and dealers, regardless of their socioeconomic status in life,”
———————————————————–
Why can’t the president clean out the pork barrel thieves in congress ?
120 pork barrel thieves on the Napoles list and only 3 arrested for stealing over 10 billion.

A recent picture of the President shows him dining with several pork barrel thieves.

Study after Study after study demonstrates the way to aget the drug problem under control and the crime out of it, is to legalize all drugs, and I mean all.
Fact number 1, it is not the poor that are involved with manufacturing, sales and distribution of street drugs, they may be involved with retail, which is P1000 per day job. The real manufacturing , sales and distribution is by the authorities, as around P5,000,000 per day is being made. Abella is pushing a lie, and my first suspicion is that abella is involved with manufacturing, sales and distribution.
The people taking street drugs, are people with health issues, they are not CRIMINALS.
The Black market is the issue, and there is so much money in it, that only the authorities can be involved.
LEGALIZE ALL DRUGS, the problem will go away.